Evaporating method for forming thin film

ABSTRACT

A method of forming a plurality of multi-layer organic films in a single process includes preparing a first evaporating source that evaporates a first evaporating source material onto a first deposition region and a second evaporating source that evaporates a second evaporating source material onto a second deposition region, wherein the first evaporating source material and the second evaporating source material are different from each other, adjusting the first evaporating source and the second evaporating source in order to obtain a first overlapping region in which the first deposition region and the second deposition region overlap each other, driving the first evaporating source and the second evaporating source to deposit the first evaporating source material and the second evaporating source material onto a portion of an object to be processed, and moving the first evaporating source and the second evaporating source from a first end of the object to a second end of the object to form a multilayer film comprising a first layer that is a deposition of only the first evaporating source material, a second layer that is a deposition of a mixture of the first evaporating source material and the second evaporating source material and a third layer that is a deposition of only the second source material.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No.2008-22592, filed Mar. 11, 2008, in the Korean Intellectual PropertyOffice, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

Aspects of the present invention relate to a method of forming a thinfilm, and more particularly, to an evaporating method for forming a thinfilm, wherein various types of multi-layer films can be formed on anobject to be processed.

2. Description of the Related Art

An organic thin film including an emission material layer in aflat-panel display device, such as an organic light emitting display(OLED) device, is typically formed using a thin-film evaporation processin which a material to form the organic thin film is evaporated invacuum conditions.

Typically, only a single thin-film is obtained by performing thethin-film evaporation process once. Therefore, in the case of an OLEDdevice, if it is desired to stack multiple layers in a compositestructure, such as in an organic thin film including an emissionmaterial layer, the evaporation process is repeated multiple timesaccording to the total number of the multiple layers. Therefore, aprocess of forming multiple layers may be time-consuming.

To resolve this problem, Japanese Patent Publication No. 2004-111305discloses an evaporating method for forming an organic thin film,wherein two evaporating sources are sequentially moved toward the lowerside of a target so that organic thin films are sequentially stacked.However, in this described method, deposition from one evaporationsource is performed only after completing deposition from anotherevaporation source within one chamber. Therefore, although the describedmethod provides an advantage that deposition is performed in onechamber, such that it is not necessary to move the target from achamber, the method still requires two evaporating operations, and thusthe total evaporation time used to form the organic thin film is notreduced. Also, if a film is a type that is formed by mixing twodifferent evaporating source materials, such as a host material and adopant material, residue gases from the evaporating source materialsused in a first evaporating operation may remain within the chamberafter the first evaporating operation is over. Thus, the evaporatingsource material for forming a film may be corrupted in the secondevaporating operation due to the residue gases from the firstevaporating operation. Therefore, the chamber has to be ventilatedbetween the first and second evaporating operations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Aspects of the present invention provide a method of forming athin-film, by which a plurality of multi-layer organic films can beformed in single process.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided amethod of forming a multilayer film on a substrate, the methodcomprising: depositing a first evaporating source material from a firstevaporating source and a second evaporating source material from asecond evaporating source onto the substrate while moving the firstevaporating source and the second evaporating source together withrespect to the substrate, wherein the first evaporating source materialand the second evaporating source material are different from eachother, wherein the first evaporating source and the second evaporatingsource are positioned with respect to each other to provide anon-overlapping deposition region of the first evaporating sourcematerial, an overlapping deposition region of the first evaporatingsource material and the second evaporating source material and anon-overlapping deposition region of the second source material suchthat when the first evaporating source and the second evaporating sourceare moved together with respect to the substrate, a multilayer film isformed comprising a first layer that is a deposition of only the firstevaporating source material, a second layer that is a deposition of amixture of the first evaporating source material and the secondevaporating source material and a third layer that is a deposition ofonly the second source material.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, there isprovided a method of forming a multilayer film on a substrate, themethod comprising: depositing a first evaporating source material from afirst evaporating source, a second evaporating source material from asecond evaporating source and a third evaporating source material from athird evaporating source onto the substrate while moving the firstevaporating source, the second evaporating source and the thirdevaporating source together with respect to the substrate, wherein thefirst evaporating source material, the second evaporating sourcematerial and the third evaporating source are different from each other,wherein the first evaporating source, the second evaporating source andthe third evaporating source are positioned with respect to each otherto provide a non-overlapping deposition region of the first evaporatingsource material, an overlapping deposition region of the firstevaporating source material and the second evaporating source material,a non-overlapping deposition region of the second evaporating sourcematerial, an overlapping deposition region of the second evaporatingsource material and the third evaporating source material and anon-overlapping region of the third source material such that when thefirst evaporating source, the second evaporating source and the thirdevaporating source are moved together with respect to the substrate, amultilayer film is formed comprising a first layer that is a depositionof only the first evaporating source material, a second layer that is adeposition of a mixture of the first evaporating source material, athird layer that is a deposition of only the second evaporating sourcematerial, a fourth layer that is a deposition of a mixture of the secondevaporating source material and the third evaporating source materialand a fifth layer that is a deposition of only the third evaporatingsource material.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, there isprovided a method of forming a multilayer film on a substrate, themethod comprising: depositing a first evaporating source material from afirst evaporating source, a second evaporating source material from asecond evaporating source and a third evaporating source material from athird evaporating source onto the substrate while moving the firstevaporating source, the second evaporating source and the thirdevaporating source together with respect to the substrate, wherein thefirst evaporating source material, the second evaporating sourcematerial and the third evaporating source are different from each other,wherein the first evaporating source, the second evaporating source andthe third evaporating source are positioned with respect to each otherto provide an overlapping deposition region of the first evaporatingsource material and the second evaporating source material and anoverlapping deposition region of the second evaporating source materialand the third evaporating source material such that when the firstevaporating source, the second evaporating source and the thirdevaporating source are moved together with respect to the substrate, amultilayer film is formed comprising a first layer that is a depositionof a mixture of the first evaporating source material and the secondevaporating source material and a second layer that is a deposition of amixture of the third evaporating source material and the secondevaporating source material.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, there isprovided a method of forming a multilayer thin film, the methodincluding: preparing a first evaporating source evaporating a firstevaporating source material onto a first deposition region and a secondevaporating source evaporating a second evaporating source material ontoa second deposition region, wherein the first evaporating sourcematerial and the second evaporating source material are different fromeach other; adjusting the first evaporating source and the secondevaporating source in order to obtain a first overlapping region inwhich the first deposition region and the second deposition regionoverlap each other, driving the first evaporating source and the secondevaporating source, depositing the first evaporating source material andthe second evaporating source material onto a portion of an object to beprocessed, and moving the first evaporating source and the secondevaporating source from a first end of the object to a second end of theobject to form a multilayer thin film comprising a first layer that is adeposition of only the first evaporating source material, a second layerthat is a deposition of a mixture of the first evaporating sourcematerial and the second evaporating source material and a third layerthat is a deposition of only the second source material.

According to aspects of the present invention, the method may furthercomprise moving the first evaporating source and the second evaporatingsource from a second end of the object to a first end of the object toform a fourth layer that is a deposition of only the second evaporatingsource material, a fifth layer that is a deposition of a mixture of thefirst evaporating source material and the second evaporating sourcematerial and a sixth layer that is a deposition of only the first sourcematerial.

According to aspects of the present invention, the first and secondevaporating sources may move at the same speed.

The method may further include preparing a third evaporating sourceevaporating a third evaporating source material, which differs from thefirst and second evaporating source materials, onto a third depositionregion, adjusting the third evaporating source in order to obtain asecond overlapping region in which the third deposition region overlapswith either the first deposition region or the second deposition region,driving the third evaporating source, depositing the third evaporatingsource material onto a portion of an object to be processed, and movingthe third evaporating source from the first end of the object to thesecond end of the object with the first evaporating source and thesecond evaporating source such that the multilayer thin film furthercomprises a fourth layer that is a deposition of a mixture of the secondevaporating source material and the third evaporating source materialand a fifth layer that is a deposition of only the third evaporatingsource material.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the method furthercomprises moving the first evaporating source, the second evaporatingsource and the third evaporating source from a second end of the objectto a first end of the object to form a sixth layer that is a depositionof only the third evaporating source material, a seventh layer that is adeposition of a mixture of the third evaporating source material and thesecond evaporating source material, an eighth layer that is a depositionof only the second source material, a ninth layer that is a depositionof a mixture of the second evaporating source material and the firstevaporating source material, an tenth layer that is a deposition of onlythe first source material,

According to another embodiment of the present invention, there isprovided a method of forming a multilayer thin film, comprising:preparing a first evaporating source evaporating a first evaporatingsource material onto a first deposition region, a second evaporatingsource evaporating a second evaporating source material onto a seconddeposition region, and a third evaporating source that evaporates athird evaporating source material onto a third deposition region whereinthe first evaporating source material, the second evaporating sourcematerial and the third evaporating source material are different fromeach other; adjusting the first evaporating source, the secondevaporating source and the third evaporating source in order to obtain afirst overlapping region in which the second deposition regioncompletely overlaps the first deposition region and a second overlappingregion in which the second deposition region completely overlaps thethird deposition region; driving the first evaporating source, thesecond evaporating source and the third evaporating source; depositingthe first evaporating source material, the second evaporating sourcematerial and the third evaporating source material onto a portion of anobject to be processed; and moving the first evaporating source, thesecond evaporating source and the third evaporating source from a firstend of the object to a second end of the object to form a multilayerthin film comprising a first layer that is a deposition of a mixture ofthe first evaporating source material and the second evaporating sourcematerial and a second layer that is a deposition of a mixture of thesecond evaporating source material and the third evaporating sourcematerial.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the first overlappingregion and the second overlapping region may be sequentially formed fromthe first end of the object to be processed.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the first through thirdevaporating sources may move at the same speed.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, there isprovided a deposition apparatus that forms a multilayer thin film on asubstrate, comprising: a first evaporating source that evaporates afirst evaporating source material onto a first deposition region, and asecond evaporating source that evaporates a second evaporating sourcematerial onto a second deposition region, wherein the first evaporatingsource and the second evaporating source are positioned such that thefirst deposition region and the second deposition region partiallyoverlap to form a first overlapping region, and wherein the firstevaporating source and the second evaporating source are coupled to movetogether in a direction with respect to the substrate to form amultilayer thin film.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, there isprovided a deposition apparatus that forms a multilayer thin film on asubstrate, comprising: a first evaporating source that evaporates afirst evaporating source material onto a first deposition region, asecond evaporating source that evaporates a second evaporating sourcematerial onto a second deposition region, and a third evaporating sourcethat evaporates a third evaporating source material onto a thirddeposition region, wherein the first evaporating source and the secondevaporating source are positioned such that the first deposition regionand the second deposition region partially overlap to form a firstoverlapping region, wherein the second evaporating source and the thirdevaporating source are positioned such that the second deposition regionand the third deposition region partially overlap to form a secondoverlapping region and wherein the first evaporating source, the secondevaporating source and the third evaporating source are coupled to movetogether in a direction with respect to a substrate to form a multilayerthin film on the substrate.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, there isprovided a deposition apparatus comprising: a first evaporating sourcethat evaporates a first evaporating source material onto a firstdeposition region, a second evaporating source that evaporates a secondevaporating source material onto a second deposition region, and a thirdevaporating source that evaporates a third evaporating source materialonto a third deposition region, wherein the first evaporating source andthe second evaporating source are positioned such that the seconddeposition region completely overlaps the first deposition region toform a first overlapping region, wherein the second evaporating sourceand the third evaporating source are positioned such that the seconddeposition region completely overlaps the third deposition region toform a second overlapping region and wherein the first evaporatingsource, the second evaporating source and the third evaporating sourceare coupled to move together in a direction with respect to a substrateto form a multilayer thin film on the substrate.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, there isprovided a deposition apparatus comprising: a plurality of evaporatingsources that evaporates source material onto the substrate, eachevaporating source depositing a different source material, wherein theevaporating sources are positioned to form overlapping depositionregions and/or non-overlapping deposition regions and wherein theevaporating sources are to move together in a direction with respect toa substrate to form a multilayer film on the substrate.

According to aspects of the present invention, a multi-layer organicfilm in which various material layers are stacked can be formed insingle evaporation process. Thus, there is no time loss betweenoperations of stacking the organic films, so that layers can beefficiently stacked.

According to aspects of the present invention, since layers within amulti-layer organic film are formed successively, it is possible toobtain organic films with good quality without ventilating a chamberbetween operations of stacking layers in an organic film.

Also, aspects of the present invention are advantageous for forminglarge-sized substrates.

Additional aspects and/or advantages of the invention will be set forthin part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obviousfrom the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and/or other aspects and advantages of the invention will becomemore apparent and more readily appreciated from the followingdescription of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view schematically showing an evaporation systemperforming a method of forming a thin-film, according to an embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view schematically showing a configuration of theevaporating sources of FIG. 1 and angle limiting components that limitthe evaporating angle of the evaporating sources;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a thin-film formed by the evaporationsystem shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of another thin-film formed by theevaporation system shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view schematically showing an evaporation systemperforming a method of forming a thin-film, according to anotherembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a thin-film formed by the evaporationsystem shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of another thin-film formed by theevaporation system shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view schematically showing an evaporation systemperforming a method of forming a thin-film, according to anotherembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of a thin-film formed by the evaporationsystem shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view of another thin-film formed by theevaporation system shown in FIG. 8.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to the present embodiments of thepresent invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elementsthroughout. The embodiments are described below in order to explain thepresent invention by referring to the figures.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view schematically showing an evaporation systemperforming a method of forming a thin-film, according to an embodimentof the present invention.

Although a chamber is not shown in FIG. 1 for convenience ofexplanation, all components shown in FIG. 1 may be disposed in a chambermaintained at an appropriate vacuum level. Alternatively, the chambermay be maintained in an inert atmosphere including inert gases.

A substrate 10, which is an object to be processed, is disposed withinthe chamber. The substrate 10 may be a substrate for a flat-paneldisplay device, and more generally, any substrate having a large surfacearea, such as a mother glass on which a plurality of flat-panel displaydevices can be formed.

A first evaporating source 22 and a second evaporating source 23 aredisposed on a surface to face the substrate 10, as shown in FIG. 1. Thefirst evaporating source 22 and the second evaporating source 23 may bedisposed on a base 20, and the base 20 may be disposed on a guide rail21 placed in the chamber such that the base 20 can move along the guiderail 21. In this case, the base 20 may be connected to a separatedriving unit (not shown). It is to be understood that the disposition ofthe first evaporating source and the second evaporating source can bedifferent from what is shown in FIG. 1 and any structure moves the firstevaporating source and the second evaporating source together, that is,in the same direction and at the same time, can be used.

As shown in FIG. 1, the first evaporating source 22 and the secondevaporating source 23 are disposed at a predetermined distance apartfrom each other and are disposed to move in the same direction.

As shown in FIG. 1, the first evaporating source 22 deposits a firstevaporating source material onto the substrate 10 by conicallyevaporating the first evaporating source material onto the substrate 10.The conical projection of the first evaporating source material isdesignated by the reference character C1. The second evaporating source23 deposits a second evaporating source material onto the substrate 10by conically evaporating the second evaporating source material onto thesubstrate 10. The conical projection of the second evaporating sourcematerial is designated by reference character C2. At this point, theconical projection C1 of the first evaporating source material and theconical projection C2 of the second evaporating source materialpartially overlap each other at a location on the substrate 10. As aresult, a first non-overlapping deposition region A1 in which only thefirst evaporating source material is deposited and a secondnon-overlapping deposition region A2 in which only the secondevaporating source material is deposited are formed at edges of theentire deposition region on the substrate 10. A first overlapping regionB1 is formed between the first non-overlapping deposition region A1 andthe second non-overlapping deposition region A2, wherein a mixture ofthe first evaporating source material and the second evaporating sourcematerial is deposited in the first overlapping region B1. Herein, whereit is stated that only the first evaporating source material isdeposited on the non-overlapping deposition region A1, or that only thesecond evaporating source material is deposited on the non-overlappingdeposition region A2, or that only the third evaporating source materialis deposited on the non-overlapping deposition region A3, it to beunderstood that the term “only” is not meant to exclude incidentalamounts of evaporating source material from the other evaporatingsources that may be present on the non-overlapping deposition regiondue, for example, to unavoidable inaccuracies in the deposition process.

As shown in FIG. 2, angles of the conical projections C1 and C2 of thefirst evaporating source 22 and the second evaporating source 23 can becontrolled by angle limiting components that block the movement of thefirst evaporating source material and the second evaporating sourcematerial. As shown in FIG. 2, a first angle limiting component 25 isdisposed between the first evaporating source 22 and the secondevaporating source 23, and second angle limiting components 26 arerespectively disposed laterally from the first evaporating source 22 andthe second evaporating source 23.

The area of the first overlapping region B1 is determined by thevertical length of the first angle limiting component 25, and the areasof the first non-overlapping deposition region A1 and the secondnon-overlapping deposition region A2 are determined by the horizontallength of the second angle limiting component 26. Therefore, thicknessesof films that are to be formed at the substrate 10 can also be changedby adjusting the lengths of the first angle limiting component 25 andthe second angle limiting components 26, as described below.

The first angle limiting component 25 and the second angle limitingcomponent 26 may extend perpendicularly to a direction in which thefirst and second evaporating sources 22 and 23 move.

Each of the first evaporating source 22 and the second evaporatingsource 23 may include a plurality of crucibles that are disposed along aline for simultaneous deposition.

Referring to FIG. 1, the evaporating sources 22 and 23 simultaneouslyperform deposition while moving together in a direction indicated by thearrow. As used herein, the term “moving together” refers to moving inthe same direction at the same time. In the example of FIG. 1, theevaporating sources 22 and 23 perform evaporation starting from theleftmost end of the substrate 10. Thus, the first non-overlappingdeposition region A1, the first overlapping region B1, and the secondnon-overlapping deposition region A2 are sequentially formed on thesubstrate 10. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, a first film 11 made of thefirst evaporating source material deposited in the first non-overlappingdeposition region A1 is formed on the surface of the substrate 10, and asecond film 12 made of a mixture of the first evaporating sourcematerial and the second evaporating source material is formed on thesurface of the first film 11 as the first overlapping region B1 advancesalong the substrate 10. Then, as the second non-overlapping depositionregion A2 advances along the substrate 10, a third film 13 made of thesecond evaporating source material is formed on the surface of thesecond film 12.

The sequential stacking of the first through third films 11 through 13can be completed simultaneously in one pass as the evaporating sources22 and 23 move along the substrate. Therefore, the forming of filmsbecomes simpler and quicker. Also, since operations of forming films areperformed almost simultaneously, it is not necessary to ventilate thechamber between the formation of the first film 11 and the formation ofthe second film 12 or between the formation of the second film 12 andthe formation of the third film 13.

The thicknesses of the first through third films 11 through 13 depend onthe areas of the first non-overlapping deposition region A1, the firstoverlapping region B2, and the second non-overlapping deposition regionA2. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, the thicknesses of the first throughthird films 11 through 13 may be controlled by selecting the lengths ofthe first angle limiting component 25 and the second angle limitingcomponent 26.

As shown in FIG. 4, if the evaporating sources 22 and 23 perform therespective evaporating operations while returning to the leftmost end ofthe substrate 10, the first film 11, the second film 12, the third film13, a new third film 13′, a new second film 12′, and a new first film11′ are sequentially formed. For example, the second evaporating source23 may move until the second evaporating source 23 reaches the rightmostend of the substrate 10 and then return to the leftmost end of thesubstrate 10 to form the above structure.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view roughly showing an evaporation systemperforming a method of forming a thin-film, according to anotherembodiment of the present invention.

The evaporation system shown in FIG. 5 further includes a thirdevaporating source 24 next to the second evaporating source 23, ascompared to the evaporation system shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 5,the third evaporating source 24 deposits a third evaporating sourcematerial onto the substrate 10 by conically evaporating the thirdevaporating source material onto the substrate 10. The conicalprojection of the third evaporating source material is designated byreference letter C3. According to FIG. 5, the conical projection C3 ofthe third evaporating source material and the conical projection C2 ofthe second evaporating source material partially overlap each other at alocation on the substrate 10, so that a third non-overlapping depositionregion A3 in which only the third evaporating source material isdeposited and a second overlapping region B2 in which a mixture of thesecond evaporating source material and the third evaporating sourcematerial is deposited. Therefore, the first non-overlapping depositionregion A1 in which only the first evaporating source material isdeposited, the second non-overlapping deposition region A2 in which onlythe second evaporating source material is deposited, the thirdnon-overlapping deposition region A3 in which only the third evaporatingsource material is deposited are formed on the substrate 10 in sequence.The first overlapping region B1 is located between the firstnon-overlapping deposition region A1 and the second non-overlappingdeposition region A2, and the second overlapping region B2 is locatedbetween the second non-overlapping deposition region A2 and the thirdnon-overlapping deposition region A3.

In FIG. 5, the evaporating sources 22, 23, and 24 simultaneously performdeposition while moving in a direction indicated by the arrow. In theembodiment shown in FIG. 5, the evaporating sources 22, 23, and 24perform evaporation from the leftmost end of the substrate 10, and thusthe first non-overlapping deposition region A1, the first overlappingregion B1, the second non-overlapping deposition region A2, the secondoverlapping region B2, and the third non-overlapping deposition regionA3 are sequentially formed on the substrate 10. Therefore, as shown inFIG. 6, the first film 11 made of the first evaporating source material,the second film 12 made of the mixture of the first evaporating sourcematerial and the second evaporating source material, the third film 13made of the second evaporating source material, a fourth film 14 made ofa mixture of the second evaporating source material and the thirdevaporating source material, and a fifth film 15 made of the thirdevaporating source material are formed on the surface of the substrate10 in sequence. Also, as shown in FIG. 7, if the evaporating sources 22,23, and 24 perform evaporation while returning to the leftmost end ofthe substrate 10, films may be formed and stacked in sequence of thefirst film 11, the second film 12, the third film 13, the fourth film14, the fifth film 15, a new fifth film 15′, a new fourth film 14′, anew third film 13′, a new second film 12′, and a new first film 11′.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view roughly showing an evaporation systemperforming a method of forming a thin-film, according to anotherembodiment of the present invention.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, a first conical projection C1, asecond conical projection C2, and a third conical projection C3 arecontrolled so that only a first overlapping region B1, in which thesecond deposition region completely overlaps the first depositionregion, and a second overlapping region B2, in which the seconddeposition region completely overlaps the third deposition region, areformed on the substrate 10.

As shown in FIG. 9, if the evaporating sources 22, 23, and 24 are drivento perform evaporation from the leftmost end of the substrate 10 towardthe right end thereof, a first film 12 made of the mixture of the firstevaporating source material and the second evaporating source materialis formed on the rear surface of the substrate 10, and then a secondfilm 14 made of the mixture of the second evaporating source materialand the third evaporating source material are formed on the surface ofthe first film 12.

As shown in FIG. 10, as the evaporating sources 22, 23, and 24 return tothe leftmost end of the substrate 10 and perform evaporation, a newsecond film 14, made of the mixture of the second evaporating sourcematerial and the third evaporating source material, is formed again onthe rear surface of the previously formed second film 14, and a newfirst film 12, made of the mixture of the first evaporating sourcematerial and the second evaporating source material, is formed on thenew second layer 14.

The method of forming a thin-film according to aspects of the presentinvention is advantageous for thin-film forming operations in which adopant material and a host material are evaporated simultaneously.

For example, with regard to the thin film shown in FIG. 3, if a hostmaterial is evaporated by the first evaporating source 22 and a dopantmaterial is evaporated by the second evaporating source 23simultaneously, the first film 11 may be a host layer, the second film12 may be a layer made of a mixture of the host material and the dopantmaterial, and the third film 13 may be a dopant layer.

Also, in case of the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the first evaporatingsource 22 evaporates a first host material, the second evaporatingsource 23 evaporates a dopant material, and the third evaporating source24 evaporates a second host material, simultaneously. In this case, thefirst film 11 may be a first host layer, the second film 12 may be alayer made of a mixture of the first host material and the dopantmaterial, the third film 13 may be a dopant layer, the fourth film 14may be a layer made of a mixture of the dopant material and the secondhost material, and the fifth film 15 may be a second host layer, in FIG.6. This example corresponds to the situation where the first hostmaterial and the second host material can share the dopant material, andevaporation can be done with only one dopant evaporating source. Thus,overall evaporating operations can become simpler.

The method of the present embodiment may also be applied to a case wherea first dopant material and a second dopant material can share a hostmaterial.

In the case of the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, when the firstevaporating source 22, the second evaporating source 23, and the thirdevaporating source 24 respectively deposit the first host material, thedopant material, and the second host material, a mixture of the firsthost material and the dopant material and a mixture of the second hostmaterial and the dopant material are respectively stacked on the firstfilm 12 and the second film 14, in sequence, in FIG. 9. In this case,the first film 12 and the second film 14, which are successivelystacked, may be made of host materials different from each other and maybe made of the same dopant material. Therefore, two layers made ofdifferent host materials and the same dopant material can be formed inan easy way.

If the first evaporating source 22, the second evaporating source 23,and the third evaporating source 24 respectively evaporate the firstdopant material, the host material, and the second dopant material inFIG. 8, a mixture of the first dopant material and the host material anda mixture of the second dopant material and the host material may berespectively stacked on the first film 12 and the second film 14, insequence, in FIG. 9.

Accordingly, a multi-layer organic film can be made of variouscombinations of a host material and a dopant material according toaspects of the present invention, and thus the method according to thepresent invention is useful for forming an organic layer of an organiclight emitting display (OLED) device, and more specifically, for forminga light emitting layer.

Although a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown anddescribed, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art thatchanges may be made in this embodiment without departing from theprinciples and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined inthe claims and their equivalents.

1. A deposition apparatus comprising: a first evaporating sourceconfigured to evaporate a first evaporating source material onto a firstdeposition region, the first evaporating source being disposed on abase; a second evaporating source configured to evaporate a secondevaporating source material onto a second deposition region, the secondevaporating source being disposed on the base; a first angle limitingcomponent in between and separated from the first evaporating sourcesand the second evaporating source, the first angle limiting componentbeing disposed on the base; and second angle limiting componentsconfigured to control the size of the first deposition region and thesize of the second deposition region, each of the second angle limitingcomponents having a length greater than a length of the first anglelimiting component, the second angle limiting components being disposedon the base, wherein the first evaporating source and the secondevaporating source are positioned such that the first deposition regionand the second deposition region partially overlap to form a firstoverlapping region, wherein the first evaporating source and the secondevaporating source are coupled to move together in a direction withrespect to a substrate to form a multilayer film on the substrate,wherein the first angle limiting component is configured to control thesize of the first overlapping region, and wherein each of the secondangle limiting components has first and second horizontal portionsextending in a direction parallel to the substrate and a verticalportion, the first and second horizontal portions having first ends andsecond ends, the first ends being closer to the first evaporating sourceand the second evaporating source than the second ends, the verticalportion being attached between the second ends of the first and secondhorizontal portions.
 2. The deposition apparatus of claim 1, furthercomprising: the base on which the first evaporating source and thesecond evaporating source are disposed; and a guide rail configured toslidably receive the base to guide the moving of the first evaporatingsource and the second evaporating source in the direction with respectto the substrate.
 3. A deposition apparatus comprising: a firstevaporating source configured to evaporate a first evaporating sourcematerial onto a first deposition region, the first evaporating sourcebeing disposed on a base; a second evaporating source configured toevaporate a second evaporating source material onto a second depositionregion, the second evaporating source being disposed on the base; athird evaporating source configured to evaporate a third evaporatingsource material onto a third deposition region, the third evaporatingsource being disposed on the base; a first angle limiting component inbetween and separated from the first evaporating source and the secondevaporating source, the first angle limiting component being disposed onthe base; and second angle limiting components configured to control thesize of the first deposition region and the size of the third depositionregion, each of the second angle limiting components having a lengthgreater than a length of the first angle limiting component, the secondangle limiting components being disposed on the base, wherein the firstevaporating source and the second evaporating source are positioned suchthat the first deposition region and the second deposition regionpartially overlap to form a first overlapping region, wherein the secondevaporating source and the third evaporating source are positioned suchthat the second deposition region and the third deposition regionpartially overlap to form a second overlapping region, wherein the firstevaporating source, the second evaporating source and the thirdevaporating source are coupled to move together in a direction withrespect to a substrate to form a multilayer film on the substrate,wherein the first angle limiting component is configured to control thesize of the first overlapping region; and wherein each of the secondangle limiting components has first and second horizontal portionsextending in a direction parallel to the substrate and a verticalportion, the first and second horizontal portions having first ends andsecond ends, the first ends being closer to the first evaporatingsource, the second evaporating source, and the third evaporating sourcethan the second ends, the vertical portion being attached between thesecond ends of the first and second horizontal portions.
 4. Thedeposition apparatus of claim 3, further comprising: the base on whichthe first evaporating source, the second evaporating source and thethird evaporating source are disposed; and a guide rail configured toslidably receive the base to guide the moving of the first evaporatingsource, the second evaporating source and the third evaporating sourcein the direction with respect to the substrate.
 5. A depositionapparatus comprising: a first evaporating source configured to evaporatea first evaporating source material onto a first deposition region, thefirst evaporating source being disposed on a base; a second evaporatingsource configured to evaporate a second evaporating source material ontoa second deposition region, the second evaporating source being disposedon the base; a third evaporating source configured to evaporate a thirdevaporating source material onto a third deposition region, the thirdevaporating source being disposed on the base; a first angle limitingcomponent in between and separated from the first evaporating source andthe second evaporating source, the first angle limiting component beingdisposed on the base; and second angle limiting components configured tocontrol the size of the first deposition region and the size of thesecond deposition region, each of the second angle limiting componentshaving a length greater than a length of the first angle limitingcomponent, the second angle limiting components being disposed on thebase, wherein the first evaporating source and the second evaporatingsource are positioned such that the second deposition region completelyoverlaps the first deposition region to form a first overlapping region,wherein the second evaporating source and the third evaporating sourceare positioned such that the second deposition region completelyoverlaps the third deposition region to form a second overlappingregion, wherein the first evaporating source, the second evaporatingsource and the third evaporating source are coupled to move together ina direction with respect to a substrate to form a multilayer film on thesubstrate, wherein the first angle limiting component is configured tocontrol the size of the first overlapping region, and wherein each ofthe second angle limiting components has first and second horizontalportions extending in a direction parallel to the substrate and avertical portion, the first and second horizontal portions having firstends and second ends, the first ends being closer to the firstevaporating source, the second evaporating source, and the thirdevaporating source than the second ends, the vertical portion beingattached between the second ends of the first and second horizontalportions.
 6. The deposition apparatus of claim 5, further comprising:the base on which the first evaporating source, the second evaporatingsource and the third evaporating source are disposed; and a guide railconfigured to slidably receive the base to guide the moving of the firstevaporating source, the second evaporating source and the thirdevaporating source in the direction with respect to the substrate.
 7. Adeposition apparatus comprising: a plurality of evaporating sourcesconfigured to evaporate a plurality of source materials onto asubstrate, each evaporating source depositing a different one of theplurality of source materials, wherein the evaporating sources arepositioned to form overlapping deposition regions and non-overlappingdeposition regions and wherein the evaporating sources are coupled tomove together in a direction with respect to the substrate to form amultilayer film on the substrate, the evaporating sources being disposedon a base; and a first angle limiting component configured to controlthe size of one of the overlapping deposition regions, the first anglelimiting component being located between adjacent ones of theevaporating sources and being disposed on the base; and second anglelimiting components configured to control the sizes of thenon-overlapping deposition regions, each of the second angle limitingcomponents having a length greater than a length of the first anglelimiting component, each of the second angle limiting components havingfirst and second horizontal portions extending in a direction parallelto the substrate and a vertical portion, the first and second horizontalportions having first ends and second ends, the first ends being closerto the plurality of evaporating sources than the second ends, thevertical portion being attached between the second ends of the first andsecond horizontal portions, and each of the second angle limitingcomponents being disposed on the base.